Penna Dexter

In the aftermath of the recent college admissions scandal, the Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan issued a warning in a column she titled: "Kids, Don't Become Success Robots." Ms. Noonan sees a certain kind of narcissism in these parents who have attained great success themselves, but who will cheat to get their kids in schools they don't qualify for. We've gotta ask: Is this really about their kids? Or about them? These parents, she explains, "aim their children at the best colleges, which are, to them, basically brands." Peggy Noonan believes, that this is "not only so their children will do well but so they will look good." These parents, she says, "are status monkeys creating success robots." These successful parents are sending cues to their kids that education is more about looking good than enriching the mind. Peggy Noonan wrote of her time working for a few months at an Ivy League school. She expected the students she interacted with to be interested in her views on politics, history, and literature, her areas of expertise. Instead, they wanted to know how to get good at networking. Being at this elite institution of higher learning was less about learning and more about connecting. This is not to disparage the value of the education or the connections one can receive at top universities. And good parents can legitimately help their kids get there. To Christian families: If your child can get into Yale — if your kid is bright enough and has worked to earn entrance into an elite institution and is ready for the leftist indoctrination that will come, prayerfully send him or her off with your blessing. We need believers in the highest echelons of society. We should ask: where will this student thrive and learn? Ms. Noonan's advice to students considering college is: "Aim at smaller, second-tier colleges, places of low-key harmony, religiously affiliated when possible — and get a real education."